After a sporty, changeable decade and two years of the corona pandemic, VfB urgently needs money to be able to invest in the future. Now, of all times, the big financier Mercedes-Benz is supposed to start cutting back on sports sponsorship.
At the tennis tournament at Weissenhof, the automobile giant has already left as the name sponsor after 42 years. At VfB there are rumors that the “Mercedes Bank” (a subsidiary) wants to quit as a breast sponsor in 2023. The deal currently brings in around 10 million euros a year.
The worries would be even greater if Mercedes were also to part with its club shares. The DAX group paid EUR 41.5 million in 2017 for 11.75 percent.
At least in this regard there is now the all-clear. A company spokeswoman for BILD: “A sale of the shares in VfB is currently out of the question for Mercedes-Benz.”
New boss Alexander Wehrle (47/photo) already campaigned for an expansion of the partnership at his official presentation. Wehrle: “The entire Bundesliga envies us for the anchor investor Mercedes, the cooperation must be further intensified.”
Will Mercedes also play along with this plan?
